An Oasis

Pictures forthcoming...
Our first few days in Vietnam were spent exploring the resort, swimming in the pool, combing the beach for beautiful shells, and relaxing in the gorgeous weather. Things didn't start off great as the first morning there, a movie crew of about thirty set up around the pool and the girls were told they couldn't swim. They filmed scene after scene all day and into the night. I finally made a bit of a scene myself when I discovered they were filming a sex scene in the bungalow right next to ours. The darn place was empty except for us and they put these wahoos right next to us. The girls said they could hear the woman making "sex noises". When asked to explain what sex noises sounded like, they started moaning and screaming. Lovely! One of the bartendars, Binh, told us the director was a big VIP. He then said he was more like a Very Impolite Person and not Important. I'm going to remember that one.
Soon things were quiet and we enjoyed being one of only a couple of guests at the resort. The staff waited on us like royalty. While Larry and I got a $10 massage and facial, the girls got their nails painted with intricate little drawing. Unfortunately, they only lasted a couple of days. One of the waitresses, Phuong, really took to the girls...surprise, surprise and told us she would take us to a place where you could feed wild monkeys during her free time. And, Binh said he'd take us to Vung Tau City as that's where he's from. Friday morning, six of us piled into the taxi to get some bananas for the monkeys. Phuong and I walked to the market, while Larry stayed with the girls. We all caused quite a stir. The folks at the market looked from Phuong to me, trying to figure out what the story was. The market reminded me of the fresh market I explored with the expat group, but this one was much bigger and much poorer...if possible. The people were friendly enough, but at the same time, they looked a bit dubious at me. She bought two big bags of mini bananas and another bag of some small fruit. Larry said folks were coming out of their shops to get a look at them. A small crowd surrounded them when we got to the taxi.
We drove along the coastline for a only a few minutes before turning down a dirt road. There were no distinguishing signs, so we never would have found the place on our own. A buddhist temple sits at the base of the mountain and it's under renovation. A monk, who chatted with Larry, told him he'd been there since the end of the "American" war. Over two thousand soldiers died on that mountain alone.
It didn't take us long to spot some monkeys. The younger monkeys had no fear of us at all. The taxi driver carried the bags of fruit up the hill, while we pointed and squealed with delight. There had to have been at least fifty monkeys scurrying around the smaller temple and hillside houses. If you didn't feed them fast enough they'd pummel you with leaves from the roof. One sat down next to Larry and waited for his chance to snatch a banana right out of the bag. The older ones held back and snarled if we got too close...bad memories I guess. There were a couple of moms with their babies clinging to their bellies, those too, stayed a safe distance away. Our ample supply of fruit was gone in record time and the monkeys headed up the mountain for a late morning nap. So amazing that these little guys had no fear of my little girls and vice versa.

"Holiday" in Vietnam

Pictures will be forthcoming
With frequent flyer miles burning a hole in our pockets we decided to go on a pre-holiday holiday. The next decision to be made was where to go. The internet has made the entire world accessible. Areas never before thought of as vacation destinations are now sought out and searchableust. Larry discovered that Vietnam Airlines recently joined the Delta partner group and were offering even more miles. After several recommendations and free airfare we decided on the south Vietnamese coast. Yep, Vietnam for vacation.

Since this Asian adventure has begun, I've gotten pretty good at preparing for anything, but not expecting too much. When we landed in Ho Chi Minh City, we got our luggage and headed to the bathrooms to change into short sleeved shirts. It was hot and humid...perfect. We'd never actually spoken to anyone from the resort as reservations and communications were done all online, we placed bets on whether or not our shuttle would show. We were pleasantly suprised to see a nice large van pull up to the curb. Larry stopped at the ATM to get some dong before heading to the resort. He handed me three bills. He'd miscalculated, thinking 800,000 dong was plenty, but actually it's less than $40. We laughed so hard, the driver looked at us funny. We settled in for the two and half hour ride from h-e-double l. The road, and I mean the entire stretch of road from Ho Chi Minh to Vung Tau was under major construction. It's a wonder
we didn't have to change tires. We were thrown all over the van and to make things more 'interesting' there was absolutely nothing except roadside stands, coffee 'bars' and kareoke cafes lining the road. It was almost ten by the time we reached Anoasis. I'd picked out the place so if it was a dive it was going to be my fault.
It was like driving into paradise.

'Tis the Season for Fun

2010 has whizzed by at a blistering pace and it appears as if this last month will be no exception. The barrage of Christmas celebrations, concerts, dinners and mayhem has begun. With most expats headed to their home countries as soon as school finishes, the rush to squeeze in holiday parties is head-spinning.

Larry and I went to a "Naughty Santa" party last Friday, hosted by Zapata's. Lady Gaga made an appearance atop the bar, but luckily we left before things got too crazy. I had to perform again Saturday morning at the EAS childrens' Christmas party. I'd taken the last of my US-purchased Excedrin, and hoped for quiet kids. The event was held at the Kempenski Hotel's grand ballroom. Not the room I would have chosen for a kids' party...a royal wedding reception maybe. A few of the Panto performers were there and Snow White was already in her costume. I waited until the last possible moment to change as I'd heard from many folks their children were so scared of the Queen. I even put my make-up on in front of all the kids so they could see the transformation. Some still hid behind their parents even after Sarah became a "mini" Queen in an effort to show it wasn't scary. The condensed scenes sans the prince were ok. We made do with what we had, and the kids enjoyed the pie-in-the-face scene. Ever since she saw the scene during rehearsal, Katie wanted to be 'pied'. She got her wish.

Yesterday, Larry and I helped with Sunday School. Fifteen little tikes ranging in age from three to five. All the children will be singing next week during the service so we had to teach them the song, "Happy Birthday, Dear Jesus". Thankfully, most of them know the tune, but all of them wanted to sing their own name.

I'll try to keep up with the picture taking throughout the chaos.

Chaos...so what else is new?

Eight Year Old Twins...Really?!?

Eight years ago today, the Whitfield family expanded by two. Never could I have imaged how wonderfully difficult and horrendously amazing my life would become with the addition of Sarah and Sydney. We were blessed with Katie two years earlier and she was our world. How could our world get any better? Those first few months I was sure it wasn't going to be better as I wasn't sure I was going to be able to handle three babies. Looking back on that time, I remember very little, except lack of sleep and thousands of diapers.

Now as I gaze at my beautiful daughters, I truly cannot imagine my life any other way. Most of the time it's chaotic and stressed pandemodium, but in all honesty that's part of the joy. The Pink Tornadoes, as they were named due to their whirlwind natures, make everyday an adventure. Eight years seems like a blink of an eye. I've asked for a "life" remote control for Christmas, so I can push "pause" for a while. Since there is little chance of that I guess I'll settle in to see what the next eight years will bring. God help us when these two turn sixteen!